Chain Reaction
by Brinatello
Summary: Olivia has recurring nightmares of Basil meeting his demise. With one dream so vivid, she decides to ditch school and warn him, unaware of how much trouble she's getting herself into.  Complete one-shot.


Chain Reaction  
>by Brinatello<p>

**This is a quick one-shot I had written on December 12, 2010, but never considered publishing when I wasn't fully satisfied with it. This is just practice writing and I'm kind of amused with how I decided to end it. The characters are © to Disney/Eve Titus**

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><p><em>What started out as a quiet Monday morning ended in full terror for a large number of London residents. It began with two typical hansoms crossing one another on the street of Gloucester Place. A young gentleman was walking his three dogs down the pavement with the trio of leashes in one hand and gripping his son's fingers in the other. An elderly lady was coming up the opposite way walking her own single canine, a hyper poodle, that enjoyed tugging on the leash until it almost snapped. Walking up within the street was a food cart vendor, preparing to start the day with his delicious variety of warm tidbits. Along the same street were two ladies with their own business cart of assorted flowers. Both watched the world go by in contented silence.<em>

_And then it happened. Something spooked one of the horses of the two hansoms, causing it to react and start running out of control. The driver handling the other hansom turned his reins to avoid his own vehicle from getting side-swiped, only to tip his carriage over in the process. A young couple inside the cab pulled themselves out and onto the pavement just as the man with the three dogs arrived at the scene. The elderly lady paused to gawk at the overturned carriage while her poodle spied the other three dogs. Getting more excited, the poodle broke free from his master's grip and ran off to play with the trio in a tangled barking and shouting frenzy._

_Meanwhile, the hansom with the spooked horse spun out of control, causing the food vendor to start pushing his cart to safety. Unable to react fast enough, the carriage slammed into his cart, tipping both over onto the street. The two collapsed on top of each other. The heater inside the food vendor cart burst from the impact, sending out a small explosion. The two flower girls rushed to pull the driver and food vendor away from the blaze, not realizing one of their dresses caught fire. The young girl screamed while her friend stomped at the hem of her dress. The flames continued to spread and catch onto the hood of the fallen carriage, trapping the people within it. The four dogs, seeing the spilled hot foods all over the street, broke free from their masters and galloped over to have a tasty snack._

_Bobbies, a fire wagon, and a full medical team all arrived to the scene to sort the madness out the best that they could. Several onlookers gathered around, watching in wordless shock of the destruction and injuries that all happened at the same time. It was the most strangest string of events one could ever report in just one morning. Many witnesses wondered what was the cause of all of this; what made the horse so scared. The bobbies began searching around the area where the horse was first spooked, only to find a crushed and bloodied mass of a very dead mouse. To their surprise, this mouse was wearing clothing as if it were human, specifically a deerstalker and Inverness-_

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><p>"Basil! NO!" Olivia Flaversham bolted upright in her bed and clasped both hands upon her heaving chest. With sleep still in her eyes, she turned to read a blurry clock on the table beside her bed. It said a little after seven in the morning. Her father would be expecting to see her soon in the usual routine of having breakfast and then going off to school. She was a good student and never missed a single day. However, after that terrible dream, something inside kept telling her to make a detour from the schoolhouse. The truth was that she had been having night terrors for the past two weeks, each one worse than the other, and they somehow all involved her favorite mouse detective: Basil of Baker Street. He was always seen in some catastrophe, ending up dead before she forcefully snapped out of her dream state. There was only one thing she had to do: tell Basil himself.<p>

Breakfast was too difficult to digest when her mind kept thinking of that dream. It was so real; she almost felt as if she was standing there on the pavement as it all happened. The previous dream disasters were ones of Basil falling out of a moving train, gunned down while chasing a criminal, or one of the worst: falling off of a capsized boat in the Thames River and drowning. Miss Flaversham swallowed one small portion of her food and sighed. The poor child did not have the stomach to finish, not while thinking of all the terrible things that could happen to someone she greatly cared for. She made sure her father had his back turned to sneak out of her chair and dispose her porridge into the bin. She later applied her outdoor garments and placed her school books under one arm, smiling pleasantly up at her father. Smiling back, he kissed his daughter goodbye and watched her leave with a small wave. A twinge of guilt suddenly appeared during her walk to the nearest stationary carriage. She felt awful having to skip school and risk getting into trouble, but this was much more important to her.

Looking down to her school books next, a frown appeared across her face. _Forgive me, Daddy. I will never do this again. I promise_, she thought to herself. Upon arriving at her final destination, Miss Flaversham hopped off the carriage and immediately ran to hide in the nearest set of thick bushes. A patrolling bobby walked past her, looking left to right at his surroundings. She also had to be careful of the wandering truant officers. They were always on the lookout for any children missing school. Once the bobby moved on, Miss Flaversham made a run for the front door of 221½ Baker Street. She barely knocked due to the door swinging violently open and the mouse she expected to see looking appropriately confused to see her.

"Oh! Mr. Basil, I didn't know-"

"What are _you_ doing here?" he abruptly asked. Miss Flaversham lowered her ears a little to the sharp tone, unable to respond. Perhaps this was not such a good idea after all. Basil darted his eyes all over until they locked onto the arm clutching the school books. In the same tone, he snipped, "Why aren't you in school?" Miss Flaversham suddenly drew a blank on why she was there. It was as if the moment she saw how irritated he currently was, the visions of her nightmare began fading away. Basil looked down in a penetrating stare that started to remind her of an official mouse ready to arrest her.

"I... I...um-"

"Well?" he asked, still in the same tone of voice she shuddered to the first time.

"Don't go anywhere," she finally exclaimed, receiving a reaction of both eyebrows raised. "I- I - I came to tell you not to go anywhere today."

"And why, may I ask, not?" Basil slanted his eyes even lower in a growing irritation to more silence. "I am in no mood for childish games. If you do not explain yourself this instant, I am summoning a truant officer." Miss Flaversham dropped her jaw at those words and took a step back. For a brief moment she had forgotten she was not talking to any ordinary mouse, but to one who was a strict upholder of the law.

"There's been a terrible accident," she stammered while staring at a mid section of his coat. "That is, there might be a terrible accident happening very soon and you may or may not be involved in it depending on where you are going today." Silence now appeared on his end, having her chance to look up and see his expression.

Basil rolled his eyes and proceeded forward, waving a hand to push her out of the way. "I don't have time for this nonsense-"

"No, it's not nonsense, don't leave your home!" she boldly stepped into his path and pressed a hand flat to his middle, a mistake she wished she never had made. Basil, now greatly upset by her actions, reached outward and latched onto her upper arm. "Wha- what are you doing?" Without answering, he dragged her away from his door and toward the start of the pavement. Looking left to right, he spied a bobby at the end of the block and whistled for him.

"You there! I need a truant officer! I've caught a pupil trying to bunk off school-"

"Oh, no!" Miss Flaversham gasped and tried to break free from his grasp. This only made him grip her arm tighter along with staring down with the utmost sternness. Seeing the bobby rush off, her heart began to pound in fear. She should have known Basil was a law-abiding citizen and would not tolerate anyone breaking a law in his city. "Please, let me go! Don't do this-"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?" he hissed quietly next to her trembling ear. "Failure to attend school is a criminal offense. If you have an important reason why I should not go anywhere today, say it to me now, or it is off to the reformatory with you."

The reformatory. Miss Flaversham began to cry after hearing that dreadful word. Her father was going to hear about this for sure and a punishment was bound to occur next. Even she was starting to realize she never should have arrived at his door, not on a school day. The bobby and truant officer were coming closer. She looked to the two, then up at Basil. She blurted the words out, but they sounded a little garbled from the sobs.

"Don't go to Gloucester Place."

"What?" Basil asked, almost sounding exasperated.

"The accident happened...or is happening there..." she sniffed and stepped closer to him, turning inward to mumble near his side. "I had a dream you were in an accident and it happened on Gloucester Place. I wanted to warn you not to go there, but it was just a dream, and nothing may happen after all..." Miss Flaversham dared to look up and see his face had changed to complete shock.

"Well, well, well, another troublemaker," the truant officer announced in a boastful manner. He, like Basil and the bobby, was of equal height, having all three towering over a very nervous young girl. Bending lower a bit, he asked in a sarcastic voice, "Did you lose your way to the schoolhouse, my dear?" He knew he would not receive a reply and only shrugged back, turning to Basil next. "We can take it from here, detective-"

"Wait, gentlemen, there has been a slight misunderstanding," Basil said, pulling her away from the officer. "This child has some important business to discuss with me that cannot be ignored. Please alert the school that I have excused her from today's session to settle a very serious matter." The two officers looked to one another with some annoyance. Miss Flaversham could see they had hoped to escort her back to school as they usually did with any other delinquent.

"As you wish, Mr. Basil," the truant officer droned, squinting a bit to Miss Flaversham. "Good day to you both..."

"Officer, a moment of your time," Basil motioned the bobby to come closer to him while the truant officer walked away. "Some unusual activity might be occurring over on Gloucester Place today. If anything happens that I need to know about, please have someone return here with a full report." The bobby stared blankly to this strange request, but finally nodded in agreement.

"As you wish, detective. Good day to you."

Once the two officers left to return to their rounds, Miss Flaversham turned to look up at Basil. Judging by the expression on his face, she wondered if going with the officers would have been a better choice. She got her answer when she merely tugged at his coat to get his attention. Basil quickly rounded on her with both hands gripping her shoulders, growling a response through gritted teeth.

"All right, young lady, you had better start talking and it had better be the truth!"

"T-that was the truth!" she cried, finding herself shaking in his grasp. "I saw the street sign and you were there. I saw it in a dream-"

"Dreams are not solid facts, child, they are nothing but distorted fabrications of the mind! Now, what do you know about Gloucester Place? Who have you been talking to? Answer me!" Miss Flaversham finally had to look down, away from his intense stare. She could feel the tears returning to her sore eyes as she bit down on her lip.

"I haven't talked to anyone, Mr. Basil. Honest! It was all in a dream, I swear it-"

"Bah!" Basil released her shoulders and stepped back with a low grunt. Miss Flaversham rubbed her shoulders and shifted her weight, watching him glare downward with a hand cupped to his chin. That expression of anger was hopefully not towards her; it was hard to tell when he was just standing there. She was almost afraid to ask, but curiosity won over.

"Is...is it a client you were going to see?"

"No," he answered quietly, shaking his head. "All right...if you must know, Dawson left me a note early this morning to say he had a medical emergency with a patient. He did not wish to wake me and instead explained where he went. The street this patient lives on is none other than..." he inhaled and stared to the heavens, "...Gloucester Place."

"Is that where you were going?" she asked in a near inaudible voice. Basil only turned to face her directly. She could see he was replying 'yes' without having to say a word. "Oh...so...um, what do we do now?"

That was the one question Basil was certain to hear at any moment. As for the answer, there was not one he could really provide when he was not sure what exactly he should do. He just had a child tell him not to leave his home because it could have been his last day on Earth. He left his home many times, went on many cases that risked his life and here he was, still ticking away. Waiting was an option. Going back inside his home and waiting for Dawson to come back was something to consider. And yet, what if the doctor became the victim of this terrible accident instead?

"In your...subconscious state, what sort of accident was I in?" Basil faintly uttered, looking as if he himself could not believe he just asked it.

Miss Flaversham shuddered at the question, not wanting to repeat it. When the detective looked down with a demanding expression, she quietly mumbled, "Carriage accident, a horse stepped on you and you were crushed..." she cut herself off and looked away, biting her lip again. "I'm sorry, I can't-"

"I've heard enough," he snapped, yet by then his voice had returned to a more softer tone. "Come on, Miss Flamershav, let's go inside. If I am supposed to perish under the hoof of a mighty beast today, remaining indoors should change that future calamity."

"What about school?" Miss Flaversham asked, following behind him.

Basil paused in his walk and turned to cross his arms at her. "I have excused you for today and you are more than welcome to stay here. However, do not expect to lounge about or touch my inventions with your curious little hands. You have your books with you, therefore you will do all of the required day's work." Lowering his brows again, he warned, "I am not one to trifle with. Any misbehavior in my home and I will be forced to punish you. Are we clear on this?"

"Yes, Mr. Basil," she quickly nodded, adding, "um, when you say punished, do you mean..." Basil watched her make a gesture of paddling her backside, followed by showing him her knuckles. The detective blinked and looked down to them, noting a few healed scars. Upon noticing his long stare, she replied, "I got the ruler for falling asleep."

"So I see," he nodded slowly. "Naturally, it will not be pleasant, but I can assure you it will not involve corporal punishment," he said dryly, seeing her sigh with relief. He knew how the faculty board members disciplined their students after receiving enough whacks to the behind to last him a lifetime. "My home is not a schoolhouse, nor am I an iron-fisted instructor, and so you have my word I will not lay a hand, a paddle, or a ruler on you."

Miss Flaversham instantly dropped the subject and proceeded inside his flat. She was still curious to know what sort of reprimanding she would receive should she misbehave, but she also knew better not to try the patience of someone she had upset in the past. Basil was not a timid mouse like her father, someone whom allowed her to get away with so much in his toyshop. She knew, or at least hoped, the detective would never pull her over his knee like her teacher has with many pupils. Remaining on the smart side, she decided not to risk it. As it was, she was already walking on thin ice with him after missing a school day over some premonition.

Within the next three hours, Basil watched the time endlessly tick on. Mrs. Judson prepared a lunch after the child admitted she skipped breakfast that morning. The two grownups could not see the poor girl starving and both told her to eat before she passed out from malnourishment. As the hours grew later, Basil began to worry that something awful had happened to Dawson. Miss Flaversham, meanwhile, read her school books and did her work like she was told to do. They were the typical subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic. With her writing materials left at her desk in school, Basil offered his own to her along with briefly becoming her tutor. Her constant yawns and lack of attention, however, were sure signs she had not been sleeping well. Remembering his warning of a punishment, she quickly sat up in the green chair and pushed herself to stay awake. A light tap to her shoulder made her gasp and look up to see a concerned face staring down at her.

"I wasn't sleeping, honest-"

"No, no, it's all right, my dear," Basil said softly. "If you must rest, please do so. It is almost six and you have been working many hours." Miss Flaversham calmed herself and watched him back away to rest one elbow upon the fireplace mantel. He was staring off again, this time into the hearth, possibly thinking over the events of the day.

"Basil...I'm worried about Dr. Dawson," she whispered, watching him only nod as a response. She could tell he hated waiting for answers. As she worked, he paced, smoked a pipe, and tinkered on a few inventions, and gave away fast answers to difficult math problems, all the while with a face of much agitation.

Before Basil could muster an answer, the sound of harsh knocking appeared on the front door. Standing in the doorway was a constable, finally a welcome sight for the both of them. Miss Flaversham knew she was tired, but she had to hear the conversation, she had to know what sort of news was brought forth to her detective friend. She closed her school book and placed it on the chair, edging closer to Basil's side to listen in on what was being spoken. For a moment he looked to her as if he did not want her present, but after seeing her sorrowful expression, he put one consoling arm around her. The constable was all business, telling them everything he was asked to report whether it was good or bad news. The room suddenly turned very cold as Miss Flaversham heard his words loud and clear: her dream had become a reality...with a few alterations.

"Terrible news to report, Mr. Basil, terrible indeed. There was an accident over on Gloucester Place, a large number of accidents for the humans, actually. Your associate, Dr. Dawson, was helping his elderly patient cross the street when the incidents occurred. Both were almost killed by a carriage."

"Almost?" Basil asked quietly.

The constable nodded. "Yes, detective. They are both fine, but the patient suffered a broken arm. Your friend is with him at hospital right now and asked me to come fetch you. In his haste to leave here, he said he forgot to take a folder containing medical documents on his patient. He wanted you to bring that as well."

"I know where the folder is and I will bring it to him immediately. Wait here, please." Basil turned and moved towards the door leading to the back section of his home. Miss Flaversham followed behind, treading up a narrow staircase and onward to see Dawson's private chamber for the first time. Basil entered the room and fumbled through a stack of papers on a stool, lifting up a dark blue folder. Turning to leave, he almost fell over Miss Flaversham with a short gasp. "Young lady! Will you kindly keep out of the way?"

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "Can I come with you-"

"Certainly not!" he yelled back while trampling down the stairs, skipping two at a time. "You will wait here until we return to take you home."

"But-"

"That is an order!" Basil ran out into the sitting room and tossed his smoking jacket aside, applying his coat and hat next. Pausing at his chemistry desk, he found a small satchel on a shelf and pulled it down. Placing the folder inside along with putting the strap of the satchel over his head, he turned to make his way to the exit. "All right, constable, let's go."

"Basil, wait!" Miss Flaversham shouted, having him stop so abruptly she almost rammed into him again.

"What is it now?" he asked hastily.

Lacing her fingers together and swallowing a bit, she softly replied, "Please be careful..." Basil exchanged a silent glance to the constable and released a heavy sigh. It had only been a few months that the Flavershams had returned to London. In that short period of time, she and her father came over to visit once and it was only to announce they had returned. He would never outwardly tell anyone that he cared for the girl, but it definitely could not be kept hidden that she cared a great deal for him. Basil looked over the child for a moment before cupping one hand under her chin.

"Of course I will be careful."

"Do you promise?"

Basil had to smirk to that. "I promise."

Miss Flaversham stood for several long minutes in the middle of the room after the two departed. She knew he would be careful, that is, she hoped he would. The accident happened in the morning and it was now the late afternoon. Feeling herself starting to tremble, she moved over to sit in Basil's red armchair, gathering her legs up beneath her. Her eyes started to look around the room until they stopped on a folded newspaper the detective had left on the side table. She picked it up and held it in both of her hands, gasping to the front headline:

"**BOAT CAPSIZES IN THAMES RIVER, FAMOUS DETECTIVE NEARLY DROWNS**"

The fact she never wanted to believe nor verbally admit was staring her right in the face. Her good friend led a dangerous life and it was only a matter of time before one of his cases could easily cost him his own. Placing the newspaper back on the table, she curled herself into a ball on the chair and quietly cried herself to sleep. Several hours later, Miss Flaversham stirred and woke up to find herself under the covers of her bed in her own bedroom. She blinked in confusion, wondering how she got back home without realizing it. Unless it was all a dream? Hearing a light tap at her door, her father entered and crossed the room toward her bedside.

"Ah... I see you are awake."

"Daddy?" her voice squeaked. "What's going on?"

"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he began as he looked to her closely, "there's been an accident..." _Not again!_ she thought to herself.

"Is it Mr. Basil? Dr. Dawson?" she dared to question, watching him frown slightly.

"No, not Mr. Basil..." Flaversham looked away and sighed. "He's fine, in fact, he was the one who brought you home. You were sleeping so soundly, you never woke up until now. He deduced it was those weeks you have not had a good night's rest that you finally collapsed from exhaustion. No, both he and Dr. Dawson are all right. I came to tell you about how you decided to skip school today...and why I am relieved you did." Miss Flaversham sat up further, waiting to hear the rest while her heart started to beat faster. "You see...there was an accident...at your school. A fire broke out in your classroom due to a careless pupil knocking over a lit candle. Everyone got out safely, but your desk, writing materials, and any items you left there were all destroyed."

"Oh, no..." Miss Flaversham's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Daddy-"

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" her father blinked. "Those things can all be replaced, but you on the other hand..." he could not finish his words as he turned away. "Do you realize if you had not gone to see Mr. Basil today, I...well, I..." again, his voice trailed and he sighed. "I- I might have lost you."

Miss Flaversham sat and stared with disbelief. The pained look on her father's face made her pull herself out from the covers and crawl over to wrap her arms around his neck. Flaversham returned the hug and held her close, thanking whatever spiritual being was watching out for his daughter that day. They stayed that way for the next several minutes, simply holding one another in a loving father/daughter embrace.

"I love you, Daddy."

"And I you, my bairn."

END

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><p>"Everything happens for a reason. Every action has a reaction. Always remember that what's meant to be will always find a way to come about."- Unknown<p>

A/N: As I stated at the top, this was just a quick one-shot to practice writing in third person view. I hope I didn't offend anyone with how I portrayed Basil here. He was having a rotten Monday. Just as he's leaving to go find the doctor, 'trouble' appears at his door, or rather he wasn't in the mood to hear what business Olivia had to share. His anger progressed from that point, especially upon seeing that she was not in school like she's supposed to be. That's how I was trying to write him: cranky and annoyed with anyone who crossed his path.

As for the general plot, I'm always believing in all things happening for a reason, whether we can control their outcome or not. To constantly dream about him in terrible predicaments means that she cares a lot for him and wishes he would be more careful. Meanwhile, he loves what he does and chooses to jump at every given chance for adventure. Oh, and as you can see, I tossed in a minor discussion about corporal punishment to make a valid point across that Basil would never do that form of reprimanding to her. He's not her father nor her teacher, and that's also not his way of handling misbehaving children. If you're curious to know what Basil's intended punishment was for Olivia, I'll just say it's along the lines of what Jabez Wilson was instructed to do in "The Adventure of The Red-Headed League." ;)

Thank you for reading; reviews are greatly appreciated.


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